Suspected Gunman Arrested in Killing of Rapper Nipsey Hussle: LAPD

A man suspected of killing rapper Nipsey Hussle over the weekend was arrested in Bellflower on Tuesday following an individual’s tip, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Around 1:15 p.m., a member of the public reporting seeing someone they believed to be the suspect — identified as 29-year-old Eric Holder — in the 9900 block of Artesia Boulevard, an LAPD news release stated. A man who works in the area told KTLA he noticed a man walking up and down the sidewalk there, screaming and acting strange. The witness, who asked his name not be used, said he called 911. L.A. County sheriff’s deputies responded and detained the man until LAPD homicide detectives responded and positively identified him as the suspect, according to the release. The witness says Holder was rushed by about nine deputies, who tackled him and took him into custody at gunpoint. Holder was taken to an LAPD facility where he booked on suspicion of murder, police said. His arrest comes one day after police named him as a suspect in the slaying of the Grammy-nominated artist’s killing. Hussle, 33, was shot multiple times on Sunday afternoon outside his clothing store in a strip mall in the 3400 block of West Slauson Boulevard, in the Hyde Park neighborhood of South Los Angeles, according to LAPD. Two others were also injured in the shooting, including one who declined medical treatment at the scene, the police release said. The Los Angeles County coroner’s office confirmed the rapper — who was born Ermias Joseph Asghedom — died of gunshot wounds to the head torso. His death was ruled a homicide. The suspect fled the scene on foot through a nearby alleyway to an awaiting 2016 Chevy Cruze, which was being driven by an unidentified female, according to police. Prior to the arrest, LAPD officials said during a news conference on Tuesday morning that Hussle and Holder knew each other, and that a personal dispute between the two is what led to the killing. Chief Michel Moore had urged the suspect to turn himself in to police. Hussle’s longtime girlfriend, Lauren London, spoke out for the first time on social media shortly after the arrest was made Tuesday, saying she was “completely lost” in the caption on a photo of her late husband posted to her Instagram account. KTLA’s Matt Phillips and Erika Martin contributed to this story.